Portable routing machine



Dec. 15, 1925- 1,565,790

R. L. CARTER PORTABLE ROUTING MACHINE Filed March 21, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15, 1925- 1,565,790

R. L. CARTER PORTABLE ROUTING momma Filed March 21 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES I 1,565,790 PATENT, OFFICE.

RAY L. CARTER, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

PORTABLE ROUTING MACHINE.

Application filed March 21, 1925. Serial No. 17,419.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1,.RAY L. CARTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Routing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in routing and boring machines generally, and has particular relation to novel and powerful means for supporting the motor and other operative parts of the device.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel and simple support, consisting of a hollow cylindrical holder, which is arranged to adjustably receive the motor that drives the routing and boring tools, the said holder being formed at one side with a guide portion having an angular vertical opening, for slidably mounting the holder upon a pedestal or post of substantially the same angularity, and in which is housed a coilspring, by whose tension the motor and the holder are normally held in the elevated or idle position the said pedestal as well as, the guide portion of the holder being strongly constructed and comprising thesole support for the motor; the said pedestal being rigidly mounted upon a substantially circular base, in a manner to position the motor and routing tool substantially concentric to the base, the central portion of which is usually cut away for the free play of the tool and for affording a clear view of the work during the routing operations. A further object is to provide novel means for adjustably holding the guide and the pedestal in operative relationto each other, for taking up wear of the guide and pedestal, and for preventing chattering or vibrating of the parts, during the operative periods. A further object is to provide a ratchet-rack, which is arranged to be engaged by pawl, for moving the motor and tool step-by-step towards the work. A

' further object is to provide means for preventing the accidental recoil or elevating of the motor and holder, after they are once adjusted for performing a certain work. A futher object is to provide novel means for operating the pawl, and similar means for releasing the pawl and allowing the tension member to lift the motor and its holder away from the work. A further object is v whichto provide means for gaging the depth to which the tool may be lowered by the pawl during the performance of the routing work. And a further object is to provide means for locking the holder to the pedestal, for preventing the movement of the holder relatively to the base, under certain eonditions.

This invention relates particularly to im provements in the devices shown and described in the United States Patent No. 1,514,894, dated November 11, 1924, and also has reference to the routing machines shown and described-in my pending applications Serial No. 744,720, filed October'20, 1924, and Serial No. 754,090 filed December 5, 1924.

The various features and parts of the invention will be understood from the detailed description which follows, and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in

Figure 1 is a top plan view, partially broken, of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a front side elevation and partial central vertical section, the latter being taken on. line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is respectively a top end and a side view of the pedestal,

and a portion of the base. Fig. 4 is a front end elevation of the machine, with parts of the operating mechanism broken away. Fig. 5 is a rear side elevation. And Fig. 6 is a top-plan view of the holder.

In the drawings, 2 represents the routing machine including a motor 3, having an armature shaft 3. 4 represents an externally threaded casing, having top and bottom caps 44, by which the motor is completely enclosed. The armature shaft prefer ably extends below the casing 4, and its lower end is shown fitted with a chuck 5, which supports the routing or boring tool, as 6. The motor is adjustably supported by an internally threaded holder 7, and may be moved vertically in the holder, for adjusting the tool relatively to the work, by

rotating the casing or the holder, as shown pedestal, as 8, whose lower end is preferably boss 9( of a relatively large circular base 9,

' tachably secure the latter preferably having a plane bottom for engaging the work. The pedestal 8 is preferably substantiallytriangular in crosssection, as shown in Figs. 1 and3, and the pedestal is also referably bored out centrally for provi ing a socket, as 8' for housing a coil-spring 10, by wh1ch' the motor and holder are normally and resiliently supported inthe elevated or idle pos t1on,as shown by full lines in Flgs. 2,- 4, and

5. The holder 7 is formed at one side with" screws 16. The screw 16' may also be operated manually for instantly locking the sion should not be great enough to prevent thespring 19 from freely raising the holder whenever it is desired to release the tool 6 automaticallyby the spring 10'. When the router is in constant. use there is naturally an enlarged guide portion 7, which is more or less wear due to the frictional conformed with a substantially triangular vertical opening 7, which slidabl receives the pedestal 8.. The guides 7 an the pedestal are preferably formed heavy and strong, 1n

order that they may safely support themotor and related parts, which naturally exert considerable gravitative as well as vibrative strains 11 on the lone support 8.- The top end of the pedestal 8 is formed with a threaded ortlon 8, to which is dea centrally perforated screw cap 12, the latter serving to close'the normally open end of the pedestal, and also acts as a guide for the stem 13 of a plunger 13, which rests upon and depresses the spring 10, when the motor and tool are lowered towards the work. The plunger 13 is rendered movable with the guide 7 by means of a screw which is threaded into the guide and which plays in a longitudinal slot 8 formed in the rear wall of the (see Figs. 1, 3 and 5). The stem 13 extends upwardly beyond the cap 12, and is prefer ably threaded and fitted with similar nuts 1414, by which the downward movement of the motor and holder maybe gaged, as shown by the full and dotted lines in Fig. 2. By this construction and arrangement,

the tool 6 may be lowered for cutting to any depth within the range of the adjustable parts, by simply setting the gage-nut 14 relatively to the cap 12. The nut 14:, when screwed down tightly upon the nut 14, ef fects the locking of the nuts, in a wellknown manner.

One wall of the opening 7 is formed with a vertical recess, as 15, in which is disposed a plate 15' parallel to the pedestal 8, and which normally makes sliding contact with the adjacent flat face of the pedestal. The plate 15 is normally held in working frictional contact with the pedestal, by a series of set-screws, as 16 and 16'. lhe

screws 16 are preferably connnon setscrews, whose heads are provided with screw driver slots. These screws are preferably arranged to engage the opposite lateral portions of the plate 15', as best seen in Fig. 4. The screw 16 is preferably formed with a knurled handle 16, and

normally performs the samefunction as the pedestal tact between the holder and the pedestal. This wearing away of the said parts may be readily and quickly taken up, and the parts may be kept in proper. working condition, by the tightening of the screws 16-16', as explained. 1 5

The motor and holder may be lowered step-by-step, by means 'of a pawl 18, whose top end is formed hook-like, as at 18', for normally engaging the teeth 17, of a rack 17 which is formed in the guide 7, as best seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. The pawl 18 is provided with a-hollow head 18. The pawl is raised and lowered, by means of a lever 19, and intermediate its. ends the said able depth may be routed by successive,

stages wherein each stage represents the normal depth the tool is designed to out. To hold the downward adjustment of the routing mechanism, after each depressive movement of the lever 19, I provide a second, or lockingpawl 20. Theupper end of this locking member is formed with a tooth 20', that is arranged to engage the teeth of the rack below the hook 18, of the pawl, at the end of each downward stroke of the lever 19. This locking member 19 has its medialportion pivoted to the boss 9', by

a screw 20. To render locking action of the member 20 automatic, I provide a spring 20 one end of which is secured to the boss 9, by a screw 21, while the other end of the said spring bears against the outer face of the member 20, as best seen in Fig. 4. A similar spring 20 also held in place by the screwf2l, serves to. hold the pawl 18 in resilient engagement with the rack. The lower end of the member 20 is bent outwardly, as at 20", and this portion may be depressed by the operator, whenever he desires to release the locking member from the rack, for allowing the spring 10 to lift the holder andrelated parts, as from the dotted to the full line position, shown in Fig. 2,

for withdrawing the tool 6 from the work. The top end of the member 20 is normally positioned within the hollow side of the pawl 18, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, and when said member is released from the teeth of the rack it also disengages the pawl 18. The operator usually places his right hand over the levers 19 and 20, when operating the machine, and at the same time his left hand may clasp a knob 22 which isshown mounted at the left side of the base. By these means he may maneuver and accurately guide the routing machine over the work, at will. By mounting the routing machine on a single support located at one side of the base 9, as shown, the operator at all times has a clear and unobstructed viewof the tool, as well as the work, and is able to perform routing work more rapidly and with greater precision or accuracy, than where the router and its holder are supported by twostandards or guides, which are usually disposed at the opposite sides of the machine, as shown in my pending applications referred to.- Furthermore, the provision of the lone pedestal 8 greatly lessens the time, labor and expense of making, assembling and adjusting the operating parts of the machine, and besides the machine is more compact and hasless number of parts to handle and care for.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is v 1. A holder adapted to adjustably support a routing machine and the like, said holder being formed with a guide-way whose axis is parallel to the axis of the routing machine, a pedestal slidably received in said guide-way upon which said holder is reciprocable for moving the routing machine towards and away from the work, tension means for normally holding the routing machine in the idle position, a

lever for moving the routing machine towards the work, means operable within and concentric to said pedestal for gaging the extent of the latter movements, a locking device for restraining said tension means from restoring the routing machine to the idle position, and means for releasing said locking device for freeing the tension means from said restraint,

2. In a router, the combination with a base, a motor, and a tool adapted to be driven by the motor, of an angular pedestal rising from one side of the base parallel to the axis of the motor, said pedestal being formed with a longitudinal socket and with a guide slot, a. spring in said socket, a holder the motor and holder are moved in one direction, means for moving the motor stepby-step towards the work, means for looking the motor after each step-by-step movement, and means for releasing said locking means for efl'ecting the liftin of the motor away from the work by t e tension of said spring.

3. In a holder for routing machines and the like a cylindrical body in which the routing mechanism is axially adjustable, said body being formed with a laterally extending guide portion. said portion being formed with an opening parallel to the axis of the holder, a pedestal for supporting the holder said pedestal slidably engaging said opening, tension means for normally holding the holder and the routing mechanism away from the work, means for moving the holder and routing parts towards the work, means for gaging the de th of the routing work, said gaging means being disposed and operable in the line of the axis of the pedestal, and means for preventing the accidental lifting of the routing machine.

4. In a routing machine a base, a motor,

a tool driven by said motor, a holder for the motor, means for adjusting said motor axially relatively to the base, said holder being formed at one side with an angular guide way whose axis is parallel to the axis of the motor, and with a ratchet-rack adjacent said way, an angular pedestal adapted to slidably engage said way, a awl engaging said rack, a lever for operat- 1ng said pawl for effecting the step-by-step movement of the motor and holder towards the base, a rockable member resiliently engaging said rack for holding the motor and bolder after each movement effected by said pawl, said member ada ted to be swung away from the rack an to disengage the pawl from the rack, and a tension device adapted to lift the motor and holder away fronli the base by the disengagement of said paw In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

RAY L. CARTER. 

